Companies missing out on gamification benefits

Four in 10 HR directors report their organisation is ‘not at all interested’ in exploring the potential of gamification, despite over half (52%) of them expressing interest in using it to improve the performance of their people.

A report by people management business Penna, Big Game Hunters, reveals that 89% of employees don’t know what gamification is.

Penna CEO Gary Browning said organisations that are not interested in gamification are “missing out”.

“Whether it’s creating a game to aid with recruitment, highlighting a typical day in the office for prospective candidates, or supporting employees with bite-sized learning technology that utilises reward systems, there is huge potential for gamification to give businesses significant competitive advantage.”

The report also found 70% of HRDs said gamification hadn’t been used in their workplace at all before. They were therefore cautious about investing in something without proof that it works.

Browning said: “Using gamification might feel like a bold move, but it is really just an opportunity to apply technology that is now intuitive to UK workforces to everyday business practices.”

Some 67% of employees surveyed associate gaming with men under 20-years-old, perhaps playing on consoles from the comfort of home. However, the majority of gamers today are women aged over 45 – a fact that 90% of HRDs surveyed failed to recognise.

“The way we as a nation engage with games has transformed over the past decade,” Michael Brennan, executive director of consumer insight company Trajectory, said.

“We can play social games on the move, or use apps to track health and lifestyle goals. This isn’t limited to a particular demographic group.

“There are many ways people can engage, and consumers are generally very accustomed to technology making day-to-day things easier or more compelling.”